"Listen! That is thunder, Uncle Sam. I'm afraid we are going to have a storm. I wish I had covers to my ears so I couldn't hear that dreadful rumbling."
"Nonsense, Lucy. There is no use in being afraid of anything. You should have lived long ago among the Dutchmen in New York. They would have told you it wasn't thunder, but was the sound made by Henry Hudson and his men as they played ninepins with the dwarfs in the caves of the Catskill mountains.
"But there! You don't know anything about Henry Hudson. Sit down, dear, in that little chair close to me and turn your back to the window. Then you will not see the lightning. I will tell you such a nice story you will not listen to the thunder, either."
"I ought not to be afraid with you, Uncle Sam. I wish Joe were here, though. He would like to hear the story."
"I will tell it to him some other time, Lucy. Or you may tell him yourself. But here he comes now, just in time."
Uncle Sam leaned back in his armchair, pulled the beard on his chin, and began the story of
HENRY HUDSON AND THE DUTCHMEN
It is nearly three hundred years since John Smith went to Jamestown. He left a dear friend in England who was also a great sea captain. His name was Henry Hudson.
At that time England was jealous of Spain because of her riches. The Spaniards had found many gold and silver mines in America.